It's T-minus one day until we head out on another cycling adventure of a lifetime. We are flying to Europe and then we will be visiting five countries over the course of the next three weeks on a bicycle built for two. We are flying our nine-foot-long bike with us, which has been packed into in two 48-pound bags. Breakfast will be provided, and our luggage will be transported for us daily. All we have to do is ride from hotel to hotel. Our daily rides will vary but will not exceed 50 miles (yeah I insisted on that....)

I haven't posted in the last week or so because I've been tied up with spring medical appointments, attending a yoga class for the first time, and going to physical therapy for my old-lady hip flexors. I've also been pre-occupied thinking about the trip and everything that could go wrong, from the airline losing a bag and we only have 1/2 a bicycle to ride which is awful to missing our flight because of the weather.  Luckily, we have a few days in Prague when we arrive so hopefully the airline will be able to quickly find and deliver a bag if it gets lost. 

The weather, however, is now our main story. Texas has had a lot of rain in the last week, and we are experiencing some significant flooding and road washouts. Yeah, it's bad and we have an hour and a half ride to the airport, and only a few ways we can get there. More rain is expected so we don't know how the roads will be for our drive to the airport. We live out in the country, so our options for different routes are limited, and one route is already flooded and not expected to recede for days.  I keep moving our departure time to an earlier time just so I don't have to be stressed.  

So, dieting, and maintaining healthy eating has not been at the forefront of my thoughts but I'm trying as best I can to stay healthy. Tonight, we are attending a local charity steak dinner with an open bar, so you know how that is going to go.... I'm going to eat and drink and try to relax. Earlier today I went to a local coffee shop with family who were in town visiting for this charity event, and the owner of the shop was so sweet that she made homemade bread pudding with a luxurious vanilla sauce and served us all a free portion because we had been hanging out there and drinking coffee drinks for so long. It. Was. Decadent! I'm going to have to do some dancing tonight at this event to work off some calories.  

I will not be posting anything on this particular blog until we return at the very end of the month. However, I will be blogging about our cycling adventure in another blog I started under 7th Decade Redhead called "When Your Spouse Drags You on Bike Tours", so if you are curious about our cycling adventure, I will be posting about our trip there and will put photos of our trip on a public Instagram account 7th_decade_redhead. 

In the meantime, I guess riding 30-45 miles almost every day for the next three weeks will grant me some calorie grace. I'm going to take advantage of that. Especially when I see incredible pastries and other treats. Most people I know don't usually lose weight on these trips because the amount of exercise you think you are getting gives you the idea that you can eat infinite amounts of calories. It just isn't so. My hope is to come home no heavier than when I left, and to not deny myself the opportunity to try some amazing local food. 

It's all good....  

(Hopefully)

(Photo courtesy of Chris F)